Conference: Association of European Jewish Museums Annual Conference in Athens, 21-24 November 2009

Conference: Association of European Jewish Museums Annual Conference in Athens, 21-24 November 2009

(ISJM) This year, the conference of the Association of European Jewish Museums (AEJM) will be held in Athens, hosted by the Jewish Museum of Greece.

According to the AEJM website, the program (preliminary version see below) will give "participants insights into the local Jewish history and culture with a keynote lecture by Prof. Euridice Antzoulatou-Retsila, as well as visits to sights and exhibitions in and around Athens. The conference will bring together museum professionals from all over Europe and will include workshop, keynote lectures and panel discussions, on themes such as Building Bridges with other minorities and the wider community. Participants are also invited to extend the program by an additional day (Nov. 25), in order to visit the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki and sites of interest in that historic center of Jewish life."

Conference participation is for AEJM members. For those not members, consult the AEJM website to learn about individual and institutional memberships. For further
information, please contact Ulrike Roth (AEJM Administrator): aejm@aejm.org


PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME FOR AEJM CONFERENCE,
Athens, 21-24 November 2009

Saturday 21 November 2009

18:00 Arrival at the Jewish Museum of Greece (JMG)
Registration – Receipt of conference material
Guided tour of the exhibitions
Reception
Program


Sunday 22 November

9:00 Meeting at Electra Pallas Hotel (conference venue)

Sightseeing tour by bus: Athens Synagogue
Athens Cemeteries

11:30 Leave for Chalkis
12:30 Lunch offered by the Chalkis Community
14:00 Visit to Chalkis Synagogue and Cemetery: brief presentation

16:00 Return to Athens

17:30 Meeting at the Electra Pallas Hotel (conference venue)
17:45 Welcoming Address by Samuel Matsas, JMG President
18:00 Keynote Lecture by Prof. Euridice Antzoulatou-Retsila on
“Museums, Bodies of Memory”
18:40 Questions - Discussion
19:30 Reception by Athens Jewish Community at the Cultural Centre (Kosher)


Monday 23 November 2009

9:00 Meeting at the Electra Pallas Hotel (conference venue)

Keynote session and panel discussion: „Building Bridges“
This will exploring the ways in which Jewish museums build connections to different audiences: to the Jewish community, to the wider community and to other minorities.

10:45 – 11:15 Coffee/tea break

„Building Bridges“ session continues

12:00 – 13:00 Session on Looted Judaica

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break


14:00 – 15:30 First round of workshops:

• Greek Jewish Religious Art: unique features and common characteristics. This will be presented by Christina Meri, JMG curator, illustrated with actual artifacts.

• Museum storage and preventive conservation policies: issues and solutions for small spaces. This will be presented by Mary Kapotsi, staff conservator.

• Corpus of Jewish Inscriptions of Greece: a JMG project of European and International interest. This will be presented by Anastasia Loudarou, archaeologist, who is in charge of the project.

• Educational programs and products: choices and challenges. This will be presented by Orietta Treveza, JMG education officer.

• Designing exhibitions on a small budget: in-house solutions. This will be presented by Hayia Cohen, JMG graphic designer.

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee/tea break

16:00 – 18:00 Annual General Meeting

19:00 Tour of the new Acropolis Museum

20:30 Reception by Athens Municipality at the local Mayoral Hall

Tuesday 24 November 2009

9:00 – 10:30 New Projects: Panel Discussion on innovative exhibitions and other inspiring projects – contributions are invited for this session.

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee/tea break

11:00 – 12:30 Second round of workshops

12:30 – 13:00 Workshop feedback and discussion of future priorities for AEJM

13:00 – 13:15 Conference Conclusions

Those attending the conference are invited to transfer to Thessaloniki for a visit and further program at the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki. This will include a bus tour of Jewish sites in the city, a meal and a guided tour of the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki.